Galibur
Type: Tribal Village *Inhabitants: 100% Daen *Population: 280 *Origin: Settled during Númenórean expansion in Gondor, c. SA 2500 *Purpose: An important Daen ritual site in central Belfalas-peninsula. Galibur (Dn. "Low Water") was a small lake in the high reaches of the Ered Tarthonion of Belfalas, which served as an important year-round source of water for the Daen-folk of the valley surrounding its shores. The retention of the lake's Daenael name pointed to the antiquity of Daen settlement in the region, as did the fortified village and barrow field of the same name that lay some five miles to the northeast. The village of Galibur was, in fact, the ancient hearth of the Larach clan, from which Merro Glastanan, the first Morachd of the Daen Coentis, originated: the settlement was therefore of great significance to those Oathbreakers who had survived into the Third Age. Originally a seasonal campsite. Galibur acquired permanent features as a result of Merro's rise to power during the late Second Age (3247-3324). Although the Morachd reigned from Lugh Gobha in the White Mountains, he nevertheless took measures to strengthen and fortify his ancestral hearth, causing an earthen moat and wooden palisade to be raised about the core of the settlement. these changes were part of the larger militarization of Merro's newly-born kingdom, which required an extensive network of hill forts and a standing war-host against the constant danger of rebellion from rival clan leaders. Because Galibur had now become a far-flung outpost for the King of the Mountains, it was also necessary for Merro to erect a border shrine for his royal cult, that perversion of the ancient Daen Coentis veneration of Aule which Sauron himself had created. Since the transformed cult now served as the fundamental basis for Merro's novel claim to power, it was essential that Galibur be installed with the necessary paraphernalia. An artificial hill was raised opposite the village, and a sacrificial altar was set on its summit. A final addition to the village was the importation eight Drûg "watch-stones" from Slaem Puchael, in order to signify the southernmost extent of Merro's kingdom. These massive stone images required an enormous effort to transport overland to Galibur (a grueling journey of nearly three hundred miles over torturous mountain terrain, a deed calculated by Merro to awe his subjects with his vast power. Although the true makers of these Abhân-khoroth had been slaughtered by the Daen Coentis in centuries past, the terror and mystery of their legend still served to inspire fear and respect in the Morachd, who alone of the Coentis chieftains was said to be able "to enslave the works of the Puchael to go whither he bids." With the collapse of the Coentis alliance following Isildur's Curse in S.A. 3434. Galibur came to be one of the chief refuges of the remaining Oathbreakers. Although the spirits of the fallen Daen Coentis were now drawn to haunted Lugh Gobha, the great distance between Galibur and the Paths of the Dead prevented its folk from burying the bodies of their dead there. Moreover, the familial connection between the village and the Morachd who swore the oath enabled the Dead to dwell in that place (rather than in Lugh Gobha, where the King of the Dead now dwelt) if they so chose. Therefore, a barrow field was established opposite the still-fortified village, and a form of the Cult of Shoglic was preserved in connection with the "Hill of the Pyre" that Merro had raised. Here, the Oathbrcakers continued to entreat the Servant of Aulé, who had once exalted their race to such greatness, to return from the shadows and redress their curse (a prayer that was never to be answered as the last of the living Oathbreakers died out centuries before the return of Sauron to power during the late Third Age). The Dúnedain of Belfalas were aware of the continued settlement of Galibur by the remnant of the Oathbrcakers, and one of the tasks of Naur Amrún was to ensure that its cursed inhabitants did not pose a threat to Dor-en-Ernil, But the Dúnedain knew full well that there was little chance of that happening, since the folk of Galibur were a poor and wretched people, scorned even by their Orodbedhrimm neighbors. So long as they heard no rumors of human sacrifice or some other heinous sacrilege, the Dúnedain permitted the Oathbreakcrs of Gahbur to pursue their traditions and way of life undisturbed. Because of the village's geographical isolation, the folk of Galibur weathered the Great Plague of TA. 1636 with little loss of life. Nevertheless, by the T.A. 1640 their numbers were so minuscule and rapidly diminishing that it was only a matter of time before the last of them joined the unquiet shades of their ancestors in the Paths of the Dead. Galibur remained abandoned for the latter half of the Third Age: but after the Orodbedhrim of Belfalas learned of the fulfillment of the Oath during Aragorn Elessars attack on the Corsairs of Umbar, they began to make use once again of the lake and pastures of Galibur until finally, a generation or two into the Fourth Age, the village was resettled. Note: Of course, neither Merro —nor anyone other than the Drughu themselves—possessed the magical power of summoning the abhán-khoroth to life; but the ability to relocate the stones was viewed as a symbolic demonstration of the ability of the Morachd to dominate nature and to engage the legendary powers of the "Pûkael" on behalf of Coentis civilization. References *MERP:Northwestern Middle-Earth Campaign Atlas *MERP:Southern Gondor - The Land Category:Village Category:Monument Category:Gondor Category:Daen Category:Sanctuary Category:Ruin Category:Lake